


Souris and Serpentine

by TakeninStride



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, New Miraculous, miraculous swap
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 23:32:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16820644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakeninStride/pseuds/TakeninStride
Summary: Adrien gets a second Miraculous.





	Souris and Serpentine

**Author's Note:**

> This story timeline takes place after season 2 and contains some spoilers for it. As season 3 continues, some of the information in this fic will undoubtedly become irrelevant. I’m trying to take some educated guesses based on what we do know, but I probably will not try to retcon later. Depends on how easy it would be.
> 
> Anyway, I love the stupid complexity of the love square. My brain decided to send itself to hell when it raised the stakes and offered me the unbidden thought: “love hexagon” on a silver platter.

Adrien takes a minute to recall what just happened, and how, in the span of 5 minutes he went from “happily on his way to Nino’s” to “suddenly in the sewers with a stranger.”

He had just left the house, en route to his best friend’s apartment, when suddenly someone shouted his name with urgency, grabbed him by the hand, and ushered him down an open manhole. He didn’t even have time to contemplate the potential dangers of the situation until his feet hit the ground and the mysterious stranger pulled the manhole cover shut, enshrouding them both in darkness.

“I uh, I really hope this isn’t some kind of kidnapping,” he jokes dryly as the stranger makes their way down the cold metal rungs.

“Oh!! Oh gosh no, Adrien, no I wouldn’t— I would never do that! Sorry, this is weird and um, not a great place to be with the uh… gross smell and the complete darkness and all, but I need your hands— YOUR HELP. _WE_ need your _HELP_.”

Adrien squints towards the voice in front of him, as if that will somehow give him night vision, but it doesn’t. She’s still rambling, and he thinks to himself that she sounds very familiar. He’d really only noticed that the person who spirited him away into the stink zone was smaller than him, and was wearing a lot of grey. Like. A LOT of grey. Adrien contemplates what would disappoint his father more— the lack of color in her outfit, or the fact that his only son had just followed a stranger to a second location without even catching a glimpse of their face.

“— I know I can’t do this by myself and I thought you would be a good person to bring along and—“

“Hey, woah, one second. I’m not going anywhere else until I get some answers,” Adrien says, grabbing onto the ladder in the event he needs to climb back out.

“Ah, yeah. Okay, that’s totally fair, like you, but— well, that’s not what I meant to say but there it is anyway…” Adrien hears her take a deep breath that he’s sure she immediately regrets. She coughs out, “We really should hurry, but yes you probably have a few questions.”

“You’re Marinette, right?”

“WHAT?? No. No, definitely not, not at all. I’m… someone else. Someone who is not, in fact, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m—”

“Why did you drag me down into the sewers, Marinette?”

“God, yeah, it’s me. But it’s supposed to be a secret, okay? Ugh, superhero rule number one is secret identities and I’ve already messed that one up… so you can see why I need help.”

“Wait, wait. Wait. Superhero?” Adrien, Paris’s resident Chat Noir, is genuinely baffled by this news. Ladybug hadn’t said anything about—

“Yeah, it’s kind of a long story? Well, not really; it all happened today, but we really should walk and talk…” There’s a bit of a pause and she lets out a small laugh. She slides her fingers hesitantly into the hand at his side. “Right, you can’t see. Will you come with me?”

She sounds about as flustered as she usually does, but there’s also anxiety and desperation in her question. This is definitely one of the more unusual experiences Adrien has had this year (and he has been literally possessed, several times) but it’s Marinette, and she’s scared, so of course he says yes. With a sigh of relief, she gives his hand a testing tug, and starts leading him down the pipe.

Things would be easier if he could transform; seeing in the dark is no problem for Chat. But he can’t do that. Like she said, superhero rule number one. But he trusts her to guide him around even if the darkness and the echoing is starting to tickle his his claustrophobia.

“So I have a few more questions,” he asks after they take a right turn. “Like, where are we going?”

She thinks for a moment and returns with, “I don’t know. Well. I know where we are going, as in I know how to get there. But she didn’t tell me what exactly it was.”

“She?”

“Yeah, Ladybug.”

“So...Ladybug made you a superhero?” He treads carefully, trying to react like a regular civilian would. New heroes are joining the line up more and more these days.

“Um, kind of. She gave me something, and then this little rat thing appeared and THAT made me a superhero.”

“A rat thing, huh?” Adrien smiles to himself, thinking about Plagg. The Kwami do look vaguely mousey. “So what kind of hero are you then?”

“Literally a rat.” She sounds so defeated that Adrien can’t help but snort a little laugh. That explains all of the grey, then.

“So you’re like Carapace and Rena Rouge?” He wonders, and she hums in response.

“Kind of. Mine is more of a one time gig, I think. Ladybug had some… very important business to take care of today. Apparently she cannot for any circumstance reschedule. And with that akuma running around she needed someone to—“

Adrien stops walking, “There’s an akuma??” He feels a stab of guilt— he’d been actually practicing piano for once, and must have missed the notifications going off.

“Y-yeah, that’s… Oh, I didn’t mention that, did I? Yeah, there’s an akuma that’s been slinking around the city all day. He pops in and out of the shadows and is going around Peter-Panning people. Just up and separates them from their own shadow. It is way weird. The people don’t seem affected by it. He grabs their shadows, which seems to immobilize them, but once they are removed, they pretty much go back to normal from what I can tell.”

“Remind me, why are we in the sewers?” Adrien asks cautiously.

She tugs on his arm a bit and they start walking again. “There’s no light here, so there can’t be shadows.”

“I would argue we’re in pure shadow…”

“Well, he didn’t follow me down here when he had a chance to. I think he would get trapped? He seems to take up the form of the entire shadow he occupies. Sure it’s all dark down here, but he couldn’t get out again. Well, not easily at least. I thought it would be the best way to get around town until we can find a way to stop him.”

It seems like a lot went down if Marinette has all this intel. He’s impressed with her analysis, and remembers that she’s helped out with some of the other akuma attacks before. She has a knack for strategy and is quick on her feet. He’s not surprised Ladybug would task her to take care of such a crafty Akuma. They do seem to know each other somehow, Adrien recalls.

“I still have so many questions…”

She gives his hand a squeeze. “I promise I’ll explain more once we get to where we’re going and it doesn’t smell like… well, a sewer, anymore. My nose is burning so bad.”

“Is that like, one of your super powers or something?”

“Maybe. I’m not sure what all I can do yet, but LB told me to ask once we get to the place.”

“The place?”

“Yeah, the uh, the place. She gave me the address and I can’t really explain how, but I just know how to get there. Might be an ability of mine.”

They take a few turns, but Adrien’s curiosity catches up with him. “You said you needed my help earlier. What did you mean?”

“Oh. Right. Well, Ladybug is busy and Chat Noir never showed up to the scene. And it sounds like the others don’t keep their miraculous on them— not that I could know who to give them to, other than Chloe I guess. But I was afraid that the Akuma would be monitoring her. When Ladybug gave me mine, she told me I would probably need some help and that I should bring someone I trust with me to… the place.”

Adrien is quiet for a moment. He knows that Ladybug must be getting the Miraculous from somewhere, or someone, but he hasn’t had the pleasure of going along with her to collect them. He wonders if maybe that’s where they’re headed. In that case, if he’s about to be offered an additional set of superpowers, things might get a little weird.

“Here it is,” Marinette announces, bringing them to a stop. “Oh, uh, while we’re up there, you probably shouldn’t call me Marinette.”

“Oh, sure. What should I call you, then?”

A long silence. “Uh...Pack Rat?”

“That’s… hm. How about Master Splinter?” 

She groans. “No.”

“I mean. You’re a rat… we’re in the sewers. There’s a teenaged turtle running around. Sounds good to me.”

“We can workshop it later. Maybe there’s an official name, I don’t know.” She guides his hand to the ladder. “Anyway, I’m going to go up and see if the coast is clear. I’ll call you up if it’s safe.” And then she’s climbing. They both hiss once the cover is cracked and light pours down into the pipe. After a few moments, Marinette slides the cover back all the way and calls him up. Adrien quickly surveys the area outside. It’s a quiet little back road with residential properties, for the most part. Where the street meets a busier thoroughfare, some of the houses have been converted into businesses. With the sewers properly closed up again, Marinette nudges her head towards one of those shophouses and makes her way toward it.

It’s the first time he’s actually been able to see her in her costume. It’s grey, all right, but it’s a really sharp design, he thinks. Like Carapace, she has a flowing hood that settles behind two round ears on the top of her head. Her hair is down, and it frames her face in a way that he’s never seen her wear it before. He’s not sure he would have recognized her. Her domino mask is black and very rounded around the eyes. Her suit is mostly skin tight in the arms and legs but unlike the others, she’s got layers of flowing fabric that criss-cross down her middle that ends in something vaguely similarly to a peacoat. There are lots of odd half straps down the arms and on her boots as well. And all of it is the same shade of dark grey. It’s a look.

The street they emerged on doesn’t have any foot traffic, but they try to hurry and keep to one side. Adrien trails closely behind as Marinette leads them to a small shophouse that has some lovely leafy bamboo growing by the porch and a little sign advertising “Fu’s Tea Shop.”

Adrien doesn’t know why Ladybug would send a new Miraculous holder to a little hole-in-the-wall tea store. Not until they walk in, hear the little chime of the bell, and are greeted by a warm pair of familiar brown eyes. Adrien doesn’t know what they’re doing here until that same cryptic old man from before is walking around the counter to greet them. To be fair, Fu looks just as surprised as Adrien feels. Marinette starts, “H-Hi. Um. Ladybug sent me?”

Fu, presumably, regards her for a long moment. “Oh… yes. Here, follow me. Ladybug… mentioned she needed some extra help today. It’s safer to talk back here.” He opens a door to a back room. Marinette passes through, and the look Adrien gets from the older man is loaded with so many questions. The most pressing one Adrien can pick up is ‘does she know?’ And Adrien tries to use some eye-magic of his own to communicate that ‘no, she has no idea I’m Chat Noir, and actually probably brought me here with the intent of getting me a miraculous.’ He’s not sure how much Fu can pick up from his head shake and his shrug, but he hopes it’s enough.

Once they’re all settled around a small game table, Fu pours them all some tea and gets right down to business. “Ladybug visited me earlier today and requested your miraculous—“ Fu gestures to a round pin just below Marinette’s left collar bone, that holds up the first fabric drape— “She thought that the resourcefulness and stealth of the rat miraculous would pair well with an _acquaintance_ of hers.” He puts a little too much emphasis on the word, and has his own eye-conversation with the grey hero. “I’m surprised to see she sent you to me, and with a friend, no doubt. I’ve gone to great lengths to keep myself and the miraculous hidden, so I want to be very clear— with both of you, that you do not bring anyone else here without my _express_ permission first.”

Adrien can definitely understand the scope of the situation, but he’s a little put off by being scolded. Marinette seems a little cowed too, and Adrien can understand why— she was just following Ladybug’s orders after all. “Of course, Master Fu,” he offers for the both of them.

“I trust Ladybug enough to know that those she chooses to inherit miraculous are good people. Luckily for you, _Silver Souris_ , I’ve observed that Mister Agreste here is a viable choice, otherwise, I would be very disappointed to find a stranger in my home.”

“Ladybug asked her to bring a friend to help,” Adrien tries.

“I’m sure,” Fu says with one last pointed glance at Marinette. He settles himself with a sip and lets out a sigh. “I do apologize, I do not enjoy being harsh but it is my duty to protect the Miraculous. While I try to hide in plain sight, having costumed heroes pass into my shop may raise suspicion and garner unwanted attention. If either of you do have need of my help or services, please: do so as a civilian.”

In an impossibly small voice, Marinette says, “I actually… don’t know how to detransform…”

“Ah. Your Kwami will respond to “Mullo, Scavenger Hunt” to activate and “Mullo, Burrow Home” to deactivate.”

“Well then… Mullo, Burrow Home!” And with a quick flash of purple light, there is everyday Marinette. A silvery-white Kwami with big ears gives a little body shake and grinds his teeth happily.

“What a day!!” The Kwami exclaims as it does a few happy laps around Marinette’s head. “You spend a hundred years in the same old place and you forget what it feels like to adventure. Definitely could have picked up some treasures while we were out.”

Marinette laughs a little as the Kwami nuzzles her cheek. “Well the day’s not up and the Akuma isn’t caught yet. We still have some time,” she offers.

Adrien briefly wonders what Plagg must think of all this. So close to an old friend, but not able to freely greet him. Then again, Adrien thinks that maybe the cat and rat Kwami don’t get along. Lord knows Plagg has a few preposterous anecdotes to share. It really wouldn’t surprise Adrien if the whole cat/rat rivalry hadn’t started with these two over some cheese.

“Marinette, why don’t you ask Mullo about the powers he can offer you?” Fu suggests.

“Oh! Yeah, things got a little out of hand when we were introduced,” she responds. The Kwami floats to sit at the table and sniffs at her tea before turning back to her.

He explains that she has some basic sense enhancements. Not much in terms of strength or speed. The rat miraculous is very clued into navigation. The holder, once transformed, gains a very detailed understanding of the geography and architecture around them. They are able to determine the quickest and safest routes around the city.

“If I’ve been somewhere before, I never forget it either and can provide you with directions along the way. I was telling you how to get here, earlier in the sewers. Things have definitely changed a little bit since the last time I was scurrying about, but I’ve got a pretty general idea of the city still.”

“What about a big power up?” Adrien asks.

“Oh yeah! If you say “Great Escape” I can shrink us down! That way we can get away from danger by squeaking through tight spaces, or just go unnoticed. It pretty neat, but it’s not terribly effective against Nooroo’s champions, I’m afraid.”

Marinette pets the top of Mullo’s head with a finger, “Maybe not all of them, but you’ll be helping us all out a lot today.”

“So then,” Fu starts, turning his attention to the blond boy, “What brings you here Mr. Agreste?”

Adrien makes to shrug but Marinette chimes in with “We were hoping he could help us. With a miraculous.”

There’s a shared “Uhhhhh” look that passes between Fu and Adrien in that moment. Fu presses at one of his temples and takes a breath. “This akuma you’re facing… Ladybug told me it seemed incorporeal. She could only avoid having her own shadow snipped away. I would like to imagine that there must be a physical body somewhere with the infected item. I sent her along with the rat miraculous in mind so that we could explore the city and avoid conflict with the Akuma. However, we do not know when Ladybug will be _available_ , so in the meantime I suppose it makes sense that we should have a way to contain the akuma until she is ready to purify it.”

“Is there a miraculous that can do that?” Adrien asks. That seems like it would be mighty convenient. 

Fu thinks for a moment. “Not entirely, no. The snake miraculous has a weapon power similar to Ladybug’s yo-yo that may be able to constrict the akuma for a time. It is not associated with the true power of the miraculous, so the holder would not need to detransform and recharge. My only worry is that it may not work on a creature enchanted with another miraculous‘s power.”

“Well, I say we should try it. If it doesn’t work, we’re back to square one, but if it does, that could potentially help Ladybug and Chat Noir on a more regular basis, don’t you think?”

“Well, since today’s akuma seems quiet enough, and we’re already experimenting… If it was anyone else, I would say it’s too risky. But I trust the both of you.”

With that, the man stands and walks toward the weirdest gramophone that Adrien has ever seen. When Master Fu steps away from the device after a few moments and mechanical clicks, Adrien is shocked to find dozens of little trinkets situated in the little box. He didn’t know that there were so many Miraculous…

Fu reaches into one of the side drawers and picks up a thin silver ring, maybe about half the thickness of his current miraculous. Fu drops the ring carefully into Adrien’s open palm. He goes through a brief spiel about how to use the powers and recharge them if necessary. It’s totally performative, since Adrien know the rules already. Sass, the Snake Kwami, hovers patiently in the air in front of Adrien, and explains his phrases and powers.

“Fangs out, Fangs in. The whip you will receive has a binding power written into the butt of the handle. You simply strike your target with the snake head and then wrap them up with the rest. The snake head will clamp down on the whip and physically bind the target unless they can break free.”

“That sounds…” Adrien starts.

“...way more effective,” Marinette continues.

“...than Queen Bee.” They say in unison.

“It can be,” Sass remarks, “If the queen is not quite comfortable in the true powers she’s been given.”

“...which is?”

“Well, her venom is designed to be… fatal, if the need were to arise.”

Adrien and Marinette swallow audibly. Adrien wonders if Chloe even knows. 

“In comparison, my binding powers are surely more effective. It is my main focus, after all.”

“What is your main power, then?”

“A rather limited illusory effect. If you call out “Petrify” the people around will experience that which terrifies them. Unlike Trixx’s mirages, my illusions are singularly psychological. Her’s of course, can be viewed by all, and have some limited effects on the corporeal world.”

“You’ve got some neat little powers,” Adrien enthuses. “I’m excited to try them out.”

“At your service,” Sass bows. 

“So,” Marinette peeps in. “If I’m Silver Souris, what is the snake miraculous called?”

“Serpentine,” Fu and Sass respond together.

“Oh, that’s actually pretty cool,” Adrien says, observing the twisted band on his right hand.

The bell to the shop chimes, and Fu stands. “I believe you are both ready to utilize your miraculous. If you run into trouble, please contact Ladybug and Chat Noir.” With that, he hobbles out back into the storefront.

“Well,” Adrien starts, “This day sure is shaping up into something exciting.”

Marinette laughs nervously and agrees as she stands. “Do you wanna try your miraculous out?”

“I probably should,” he says, shaking out his arms. “Alright Sass, fangs out!”

Sass slithers through the air and phases into the ring. From it, a sea green material springs up over his arm and spreads across his body. There’s a scaly texture to the material that is patterned with small dark diamonds and chevrons. A hood gathers around his shoulders and trails all the way down to his knees. His mask covers the whole top half of his face and tapers at the tip of his nose. He can feel the magical wind that swirls around him push his hair back off of his forehead. The whip Sass had mentioned materializes around his waist, the snake head bit into the whip to keep it fastened as a makeshift belt. 

When the wind clears, Adrien blinks to find a similar greenish tint to the world around him. When he turns to look at Marinette, she is… well, she’s gaping at him.

“Well, do I look cool or what?” He jokes as she tries to pick her jaw up off of the floor. Only, his mouth feels a little weird when he talks. He runs his tongue along his teeth and oh, yeah, okay he’s got fangs now, and he probably should have expected that.

“Got—Hot. GOOD! Good, you look good,” she stammers. “Very, um… neon vampire… it’s, yeah. Good. Here.”

Marinette takes out her phone and snaps a picture for him to look at. If Chat Noir’s bad boy leather look is on one side of the scale, Adrien’s Serpentine look is at the other. It’s more mysterious and refined. He’s inclined to call the style masquerade rave, because he’s almost certain this bright of a green will glow in the dark. But he sure does have a mean set of fangs. Neon vampire will have to do.

“Definitely cool,” he grins. “The uh, skin tight situation is a little weird though.”

He’s used to the feeling at this point, but the black of Chat’s suit is a little more forgiving. Adrien’s not one to consider himself self-conscious, but now that one other person knows it’s him under that thin layer of fabric, it _is_ a little embarrassing.

She laughs. “Well you’ve uh, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about,” he winks, before calling for fangs in, and watches as Marinette’s moderate blush saturates to strawberry red.

He’s going to have to watch his cheeky flirting as Serpentine, he notes. There’s a freedom that comes with being an anonymous superhero that he’s reveled in all year, but he doesn’t want to potentially expose Chat’s identity. He’ll definitely have to reign himself in and keep things more Adrien this time around. 

That being said, he is excited. Marinette had thought to extend this opportunity to him, and now they can share in this weird secret together. To think that she was the first real friend he made, and now they’ll be gallivanting around trying to save the city together. His heart does that thing it does around her sometimes, the thing where it feels like it just got a little bigger, and he can’t help but smile as she stutters on about how Paris at large isn’t ready for another pretty hero.

She trails off, but recovers pretty quickly. “Well then, shall we be on our way?”

“Lead the way, Master Splinter.”

“Adrien…”

“Sorry,” he chuckles. And then it hits him. A great, punny epiphany. And he knows he needs to keep his secret identities separate but he really cannot pass this one up. “Oh my god, can I call you Sliver instead?”

“What, why?” She eyes him suspiciously.

“Well, slivers are like, smaller splinters, right?—“

“No.”

“—And you get really small, right?—“

“Nooo.”

“—And your actual name is Silver which is a small typo away—“

“Ughhhhhh.”

“So: Sliver. Come on, that’s like, actually cute.”

She maintains probably the longest, glaring eye contact with Adrien that she ever has, but then caves. “It… is kind of.”

“It’s settled then.”

“Okay, fine.” Marinette relents, crossing her arms. “Only if I can call you Orochimaru.”

“What! No, like from Naruto?”

“Yeah, from Naruto.”

“Aw, but they’re the worst,” Adrien pouts. “Can’t it be like Kaa, or something?”

“Nope.”

Adrien exaggerates a sigh, “Alright. If you must.”

“It’s a deal then,” Marinette looks way too happy with herself as she holds out her hand. Adrien feigns reluctance as he reaches out and shakes it.

“Let’s go find this shadow stealing akuma and show him there’s a new superhero duo in town.”

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter two will be Marinette’s POV and will start a little earlier in the day, so if anyone is confused about what’s happening, that should hopefully clear things up. Please feel free to leave clarifying questions in the comments, and I will either address them individually or try to loop the answers into coming chapters.
> 
> I am of the firm headcanon that Adrien spends all his room-prison time by watching anime and reading comics, so he’s a big ole nerd and will be making dumb references and jokes.
> 
> I know Souris is technically “mouse” but listen… listen fam… the French word for rat is just rat and like… I love rats but the word is lacking a little je ne sais quoi, y’know. 
> 
> I do not have a schedule for this fic, but there are some big life events coming up for me that will leave me with a bunch of free time sooooo that’s a big plus!
> 
> Please leave kudos and comments. They are my life’s blood; they fuel my motivation, and help me measure what’s going well and what needs some adjusting.


End file.
